Research Articles: All posts tagged 'flood'

In Part One of this study we looked at issues relating to the general validity of testimony as a tool for evaluating truth-claims, and in Part Two discussed ways to accommodate these testimonies in the search for Noah’s Ark without throwing science out on its ear, just exercising care to use it with minimal assumptions about unknown initial conditions. Since geology is supposedly an objective science rather than one that assumes unknowable initial conditions, in Part Three we now look at the claim that geological studies have proven that Mt. Ararat is a young volcanic peak that could not have existed at the time of the Flood.

Over 50 years ago, Henry Morris and John Whitcomb joined together to write a controversial book that sparked dialogue and debate on Darwin and Jesus, science and the Bible, evolution and creation—culminating in what would later be called the birth of the modern creation science movement. This seminal work defined the science and Bible debate in the 20th century. If Genesis is true, then the Flood and its after-effects must explain most stratigraphic and fossil evidence. Drs. Morris and Whitcomb brought their scientific and theological expertise to bear on the question of the biblical account of a worldwide flood and how it aligns with earth’s history written in the stones.

I wrote "Rocking the Boat: The Value of New Ideas" for the May 2011 issue of the ABR Newsletter. It stirred up a surprising number of comments! It is gratifying to see people actually read and thoughtfully consider the information ABR provides. Such comments encourage us to believe our labor is not in vain in accomplishing two goals: first, strengthening the faith of those who already KNOW they are God's people, who trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins; and second, addressing the doubts that plague the minds of those who would LIKE to believe, but find their understanding of the Christian faith clashes with the concept of reality our culture has instilled in them. Living in a society that continually bombards them with a worldview which denies the existence of absolute Truth and objective moral standards, some have honest trouble giving unreserved mental assent to the Bible's teachings. We want to help these folks see how reasonable and satisfying, both mentally and spiritually, the teachings of the Bible are when properly understood, by clearing up the distortions of the media and secular academics.

In the realm of Creation Science, there are a few concepts which have taken on the status of virtual orthodoxy - the measuring rod by which new proposals are evaluated. These concepts include such ideas as the Flood being an event accompanied by massive horizontal earth movements and magma-outpouring activity all over the world, and that the Ice Age directly traces its origins to the Flood. Because these concepts are usually backed by well-known Christian organizations, there is an unspoken assumption that they know best and we should take them at their word.

The theory of uniformitarianism states that the geological formations we see on Earth today came into existence over millions of years through the slow, gradual action of natural forces. Catastrophism posits exactly the opposite: that the features we see on the surface of the world today came about rapidly, through massive natural disasters. In the nineteenth century, uniformitarianism replaced catastrophism as the dominant theory in geology.

I frequently take part in online discussions where the subject is some aspect of reconciling science and Scripture. These interactions frequently raise the issue of how to interpret certain passages of the Bible. After all, if our understanding of Scripture is faulty for some reason, how can we hope to properly relate the Bible and science?

No other book in the world has been ridiculed, criticized and sought to be destroyed as has the Bible. People have been cruelly persecuted, burned at the stake, and lives have been forfeited by other methods of punishment simply because they read or sought to preserve the Scriptures! There is no logical answer as to “why” there has been and is such hatred for a Book whose writings have been instrumental in changing lives AND keeping morals in balance. Other books come and go, but the Bible is a supernatural Book, offering spiritual hope for the hopelessly lost.

The reason for abandoning a literal understanding of Gen 1 and 2 is not new. Sometimes the plain, simplest, most natural reading of the text is, indeed the best. Such is the case with Gen 1, despite all the attempts to explain it in some other, more complicated way...

A recent series of genetic studies has revealed tantalizing hints of the origin of the human species. What’s more, these new discoveries would seem to lend support to the ancient history of the human race as outlined by the Book of Genesis...

For centuries, the Biblical Flood described in chapters 6–8 in the book of Genesis was considered global, cataclysmic and historical. Since the late 18th century, however, the historicity of the Flood has come under constant attack, and is now rejected as a fable by most people in Western societies...

"I'll believe it when I see it!" How often have we heard those words? There are certain subjects that trigger in us an unwillingness to accept what others say. Over the years each of us has developed a penchant for taking some things at face value, while others cause us to demand extremely rigorous proofs before we will accept their factuality - if at all...

Remarkably similar flood stories can be found all over the world. The sheer number of stories from all over the globe, in addition to similar details in them (a mountaintop, a boat, attendant animals), argues that at some point in the distant past, the entire world must have suffered a devastating Flood...

Until recently, the Creation and the Flood have often been treated as separate units. One of the reasons for this may be that initially discovered ancient Mesopotamian documents provided either a Creation myth without the Flood story...

Creation has been one of the most interesting and intriguing subjects in the Old Testament. In modern Biblical scholarship a number of new interpretations of the early chapters of Genesis have been suggested, especially in the areas of comparative study and literary analysis...

Creation has been one of the most interesting and intriguing subjects in the Old Testament. In modern Biblical scholarship a number of new interpretations of the early chapters of Genesis have been suggested, especially in the areas of comparative study and literary analysis...

The Bible is not the only ancient record of Creation and the Flood. Well-known in antiquity is the Atra-Hasis Epic. Atra-Hasis, meaning “exceeding wise,” is the name of the story’s principal character. Dating from the 17th century BC...

The Biblical account of the great flood of Noah’s day opens with an enigmatic passage, Genesis 6: 1-4. The record of Noah, it seems, could easily have omitted them, going directly from the end of chapter five to 6: 5 without losing any essential information pertaining to the flood. The flow of the Genesis narrative seems to be interrupted by these verses...

This was the Flood of Noah's day. It was a worldwide cataclysmic Flood sent by God to destroy all living things except for eight people who survived on the Ark. In addition to the Bible, many very early historical records also document this Flood...

Aired on TLC on 12/23/04, and many times subsequently, Noah's Ark: The True Story is fairly typical of television programs that depict the Noachian Deluge. The Biblical account is reduced to a local flood in Mesopotamia, while Noah is depicted not as the righteous man of God, but a Sumerian beer trader earning a living on the Euphrates River...